Happy Birthday Meredy! - Oneshot
by Timerisa
Summary: It's Meredy's birthday! All Ultear wants to do is wish her a happy birthday, but first she has to take care of things. Cute oneshot. Takes place before Tenrou Island Arc.


"Meredy! Meredy!" Ultear called. The airship was rather large, so finding her would be a hassle. It was Meredy's birthday today. Ultear remembered how excited she was about it.

"Ur! Guess what? Tomorrow's my birthday!" Meredy had told her excitedly the day before.

"That's great!" Ultear said with a smile. She didn't want to break her pride, but she was annoyed at the fact Meredy had called her Ur - _again_. Still, she found it cute how she saw her as a mother.

Now, Ultear was frantically running around, trying to find her or at least find out what she was doing for later.

Suddenly, Master Hades walked by.

"Good morning, Master Hades." Ultear said, trying to not sound like she was in a hurry.

"Good morning. Are you excited about something?" He asked.

"It's Meredy's birthday, remember? That's all."

"Yes, I remember. She reminded everyone. Since when were you so excited about birthdays?"

"Well, when I was little, I would always get excited about them. Then, after I was separated from my mother, I was excited until I realized nobody cared anymore. I...really do think of her as my own daughter sometimes, and I don't want her to go through that pain like I did." Remembering it made Ultear sad, but she knew it would be all right as long as Meredy was happy.

"I see...Ultear, do me a favor, would you?"

"Of course, Master Hades." Meredy was important, but Master Hades came first.

"I need you to deliver this to Azuma for me."

"What...what is this?" Ultear asked.

"It doesn't matter, but be careful with it, because it's important."

"I understand, Master Hades."

Ultear walked around the ship until she found Azuma. He was sitting in a corner.

"Oh, hello Ultear. I was just waiting patiently." He said.

"For what?"

"Nothing really happens here. If I just sit and wait, something's bound to happen eventually, right?"

"Whatever, just take this." Ultear felt annoyance towards his logic. If this wasn't normal, she might say something, but this was the kind of thing Azuma did every day.

"Oh, this. Thank you, Ultear."

"Do you mind telling me what it is? It's quite the oddly-shaped package."

"They're candles."

"Candles? How are those important?"

"You'll see."

Ultear thought the candles smelled nice. He was probably going to burn them doing an odd ritual of some sort. Rolling her eyes, she left.

Ultear continued her search for Meredy. She was walking along until Rustyrose came and asked her, "Could you check on something?"

"What is it?" Ultear asked.

"Oh, nothing important. It's just that some of the nails over there are a bit rusty, and we need to look at replacing them if they're in poor condition." Ultear nodded. This became common years ago after three rusty nails popped out. The airship almost fell apart when that part starting falling down, then more and more of it starting sinking until finally, Master Hades noticed. "If there is, tell Caprico."

"I will."

Ultear wanted to finish quickly, but she knew that if she did, she might miss something. Carefully, she inspected each nail.

Three hours later, she was done. Every nail in that section had been checked. She sighed, knowing that this time she just got the short end of the stick. It wasn't a task anybody liked to be stuck with, but it had to be done.

Ultear was frustrated. It was getting later and later, and still-

"Ultear?" Zancrow asked.

"Hello, Zancrow." Ultear replied. "Did you need something?"

"Heard you were looking for Meredy."

"I was. Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah!" Zancrow lead the way.

When they got there...

"SURPRISE!" Meredy said.

"S-Surprise?"

"You were so worked up about what today is you forgot what _tomorrow_ is!"

"Tomorrow?"

" _Your_ birthday! I had everyone keep you busy long enough to get things set up."

Ultear smiled, then smelled something familiar. Candles...now it made sense.

"But Meredy, today's your birthday. Why would you want to celebrate mine?"

"Well, do you like the party?"

"It's very nice. Thank you."

Meredy smiled. "That's the best birthday present ever."


End file.
